I love making my own mixes of granulating paints, and I’ve enjoyed watching you giving it a go. My 100 day project last year was all about replicating some of the paints from the big brands as well as making some of my own.
These granulating colors are lovely! Some of your mixes are spot on. You have quite a collection of paints. I need to practice mixing more. Thanks for the swatch and mixing!
This was a wonderful video, Helen. It’s great that you now have your paints in the same order as your swatch folder - that’s such a brilliant idea! I love Sodalite Genuine for mixing greens and purples and for shadows. Thank you so much for doing the custom mixes to match the pre-mixed ones. I might have a play at some of my own. Thanks so much for another very helpful and enjoyable video. 😊
Thank you! I might have to do videos on just a few single paints, and see what each of them do and mix well with - thanks for the idea - definitely need to do some mixing with Sodalite!
Your painting of the beach and rocks is so beautiful! I would love to learn more about how you painted that. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills, Helen.
Love seeing all of your half/full pan paints combined and the lovely new swatch sheets! Gorgeous! I’ve been wanting to make a few custom granulations and fill some half pans. I’d like to see how close I can get to some of my favourites, interesting to see how close you were able to get!!
I'm sure you'll be able to do much better, with a bit more time, and experimenting with the various pigments of the same number. I don't seem to have much luck with any mixes using PBk11 though - I can't get it to be as mixed in as the pre-mixed ones are. Please do share any advice you discover!
I wanted to share a great discovery today. A dup for Dusk Yellow! Roman Szmal Aquarius Yellow + Van Gogh Oxide Black makes a near perfect mix. I was also searching for the correct yellow and we both know P. Y128 is difficult to find! Aquarius yellow lists P. Y168 but it mixes with the black to a lovely speckled olive green. ❤
The year Schmincke came out with their super granulating watercolors is the year I started to do watercolor in earnest. I was so excited by the textures the paints could create. I bought the 5ml volcano trio set (not very pigmented) and decided to buy tubes of granulating single pigments to make super granulating watercolors myself. To tell you the truth I don’t use granulating paints for the textures very often, but it’s great fun to create the swatches.
Lovely video Helen. Please tell us at some point about your art journey and how you got started and how you progressed...Obviously...you have been at this for quite some time. Your painting of the cliffs and ocean with the little dog and person ...is JUST BEAUTIFUL...Thanks for all you do here on youtube....Janis
I mainly got painting regularly last year - I liked collecting paints and playing with them a couple of years before that, but it wasn't till I discovered nice brushes that I really started. Thanks so much!
This was very interesting and educational, thank you. I love your granulating watercolours and some of your versions were really good. That beach painting is gorgeous BTW. xx
Lovely video! By a lovely consequence I found myself doing this exact same thing today with Roman Szmal Mineral Violet. I used a GRUMBACHER PV19 Thalo Crimson and Roman Szmal Ultramarine for the PB 29 and it was almost perfect. ❤
Beautiful I've done that, too, trying to match the colours. It's fun to do and you learn so much. I also love DS Green apatite gen, DS bloodstone, Sch mahogany brown, just to name a few.
This was so interesting, thank you! Your own mixing attempts really encouraged me to play around. The own mixes can be also very nice - they do not necessarily have to match. Such a joy to watch!🎨❤️
I know...what i am saying is that they are protecting their recipe by not telling you what variant it is. From my experience mixing this, they are using PB 15:3. (RATHER than PB 15:2 OR PB 15:6...etc.).@helencryer
Hi Helen , a fascinating exersise in colour mixing , not as easy as it seems . It has been , and still is a problem for me . Some of your mixed colours were spot on , there were others we won't talk about . Thank you so much for all your educational videos , I just devour every second , take care Helen , Mike in Exeter xx
Thanks! I like to think I'm usually reasonably OK at colour mixing, but sticking with set pigment numbers that I may or may not have the correct versions of was a bit more challenging! You're very kind!
I dabble more in abstract art, so the highly granulated home mixes where the colors separated more really called to me... my favorites of your own mixes are the 1st and 2nd to last and the last ones on the 2nd row along with the 3rd one on the last row. Rhanks for showing us this.
When I found out that Schmincke are available where I live, I bought their single pigment paints and mixed my own version of their Super Granulating colours. It’s actually not that difficult.
How did you get on with their PBk11? Other than the pigments I just didn't have the correct versions of, the PBk11 seemed the main problem in these mixes - the black granulation just wasn't looking like the pre-mixed versions.
I haven't tried replicating any colors yet, mainly because I don't have that many paints to mix from. I've just got the basic colors that I love and I've added a few extras over time. For now, I figure if I have to buy 2 or 3 paints to mix a ready made color, then I might as well buy the actual ready made tube of color lol. I have started making my own mixes though. I wanted a darker blue turquoise than I've found ready made so I created my own. I also did the same in creating my own shadow color. I didn't allow enough for shrinkage though. I probably should have filled 2 half pans and combined them once they'd shrunk down. I'll remember that for next time.
Yes, exactly. I was just mixing some up out of curiosity, but really I prefer the convenience of the pre-mixes. I think it was for if you have some of the single pigments already, but none of the pre-mixed granulating ones.
The paper won't cause granulation - if a paint is smooth, it stays smooth regardless, but I experimented using granulating paints on quite a few different papers/brands, and the paper affects how the granulation seems to settle - possibly to do with how the paper lets the water content in the paint dry.
Lovely and fun video! Your paintings are lovely. I love your raw loose but still realistic style. I wish you were able to film painting more but i totally get why you don't or may be unable to. On the topic of paints do you know Nita Engle only used about 10 paints on her palette? It's really very interesting how she described using them. She had her very own systematic way of painting with them in triads. I highly recommend her book "how to make a watercolor paint itself." Very fun and freeing way of painting with the most natural results. Unlike her i don't think i could get rid of my earth pigments or my dark moody paints. But that's not really what the book is about, it is about taking her techniques and making them your own. I don't have a problem with my lunar black on its own it is very granulating. In mixes it's more grainy unless you use alot OR if mixed with transparent pigments. I think i like bloodstone gen more. I'm having a hard time finding Rosa here and want to try some of those pigments you have. The grays are wonderful and i hear the magenta is the best. I love granulating paints but i love color separating mixes just as much. Such as cascade green and green apatite as an example. While having a play doing some mixes on strathmore mixed media paper i was very surprised just how different the pigments and also granulation showed up. No nooks and crannys for all the heavier pigmentsts to hide. Nothing is able to hide on smooth surface paper. Thank you for another lovely video. ✨
Thanks so much! I will look out for her book! I love owning lots of paints, but I still frequently paint with a limited palette, including my Portable Painter Micro with just 6. I did an experiment once with granulating paints on all the different cold pressed papers I had (which is how I know I prefer them in Canson XL), but I've not used them on smooth paper much - I'll have to try it again and be more observant!
@@helencryer I hope my comment did not get misconstrued. I meant no offense. I like owning a lot of paints/materials too. And you have a awesome and wonderful collection! It's been super helpful to me at times to compare and see what to buy or what not to buy. So thank you! 🙂 (And you actually use your supplies to create beautiful art unlike some channels where it's just haul after haul and they never create or show any art whatsoever)! I just found it incredible how Nita Engle created all those beautiful paintings working from a unique system of two triads and a few other colors which she also used interchangeably and did not deviate from her palette. That is all I was trying to convey. She was a master and she's passed on now but there is one demo of her here on TH-cam. And also flip thru's of her book as well. I plan to get that book you showed awhile back that you got secondhand. I think you would really love her techniques and I would love to see you make them your own in your own style.Its such a freeing way to create realistic seascapes and landscapes. Also have you seen the artwork of Nicholas Lopez? If you get time and are interested do a search here on TH-cam. Liron (not going to type out his full channel name) showcases alot of great master artists which is how I found him and a few of my favorite watercolorists. P.S. If you feel so inclined could you do a video on your favorite color separating mixes or paints? Texture is one of my obsessions in art and color separating mixes are so great for trees, leaves, mountains, hills, sky's and certain styles of painting. Again I hope I didn't unintentionally offend you!
Oh gosh - no, I wasn't offended at all - I didn't take it that way!! I looked up the book and added it to my wish list! Sorry - my comment wasn't intended as defensive, just my off-shoot thoughts on limited palettes etc!
Fantastic. I want to buy a few granulating paints. Do you find Schmincke to be too opaque? Somebody said they are but I have no experience with them. I don't want to spend money on them and be disappointed.
I don't find them more opaque than any other brand's granulating colours. I don't know if you saw this video, but it shows some more granulating watercolours, which might help.
I have been researching a lot of TH-cam videos about granulating paints. I found yours very helpful and have watched a lot of of your stuff. Someone said that Daniel Smith paints disperse too much? And leave a ring of pigment. Do you find that to be true? I love your landscape paintings. I trust your advice :-)
It really depends on which individual paints you're talking about. I'd say overall, Daniel Smith paints disperse moderately (with paints like QoR having higher dispersion, and Mijello Mission Gold and Sennelier having lower dispersion), but it varies a lot too within each brand.
I am wondering if something similar to Schminke super-granulating WCs could be mixed with Schminke Kohl liquid Charcoal and either a granulating color or staining color so it separates out. Lindsay suggested any granulating PBK 11 mars black mixed with a staining color. I can't afford to experiment. I am having to watch 100s of videos on DIY granulators so I make the right purchases when I am ready to paint portraits of raccoons for my fellow raccoon rehabbers & enthusiasts. I am going to paint portraits of my rehab 🦝🖤🤍 for much requested stickers & prints by my subscribers. I am in the field as a special investigator on the financial crimes by Epsteins partners-in-crime. I have limited time or budget. I am living in a homeless camp in the woods. It's so humid from all the rain, my paint pans are literally already pre-activated 😂😂 I am having to buy water tight containers & Silica gel packets to store my paints, markers, sketchbooks and art so it dries & doesn't grow mold or mildew. I won't be here much longer. And I built a new bushcraft cabin that's going to have a portable wood stove that's going to keep things super dry. Especially with my stone floor, and wall to radiate heat. I have a table, lots of milk crates, storage bins and will have a small area to paint. The chickwire makes hanging things quite easy. It keeps my 🦝🦝🦝 kiddos out of my ice chest & chuck box. They were busting in, and lounging on my bed while eating peanut butter 😂😂 Another yoinked my bagels, and ran up on a limb to eat them while watching me work on my outdoor fireplace & grill area. 😂😂 I am so excited to immortalize them in watercolors on my Boahong 100% cotton watercolor paper. I want to use the Schminke super-granulating WCs but wow, they're exspensive. I may grab the Dusk line. I am going to get the 5ml set of the 3 Kohls. They're going to make gorgeous portraits on their own.
Wow, that sounds quite the experience! Best of luck to you! I haven't used the liquid charcoal so can't comment on that. My own mixing experiments with PBk11 have not been successful, really. On its own it's great, but I haven't been able to get good copies of other granulating mixes with it. Personally, I think I'd like Daniel Smith's Hematite Genuine for racoon painting.
I love making my own mixes of granulating paints, and I’ve enjoyed watching you giving it a go. My 100 day project last year was all about replicating some of the paints from the big brands as well as making some of my own.
That sounds so cool!
This was a great exercise in how to mix colours using their numbers. Thankyou Helen!
Thanks!
It’s so satisfying watching your own granulating mixes granulate!! Lovely!!❤
Thanks!
Thank you for mixing the colors you did. Love it 🤩
Thanks!
These granulating colors are lovely! Some of your mixes are spot on. You have quite a collection of paints. I need to practice mixing more. Thanks for the swatch and mixing!
Yes, I love collecting them in their own right! I still love using a limited palette at times though - mixing is fun!
This was a wonderful video, Helen. It’s great that you now have your paints in the same order as your swatch folder - that’s such a brilliant idea! I love Sodalite Genuine for mixing greens and purples and for shadows. Thank you so much for doing the custom mixes to match the pre-mixed ones. I might have a play at some of my own. Thanks so much for another very helpful and enjoyable video. 😊
Thank you! I might have to do videos on just a few single paints, and see what each of them do and mix well with - thanks for the idea - definitely need to do some mixing with Sodalite!
Your painting of the beach and rocks is so beautiful! I would love to learn more about how you painted that. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills, Helen.
Thank you! I have a video on it, though it doesn't show the full process I'm afraid.
th-cam.com/video/g8MfSVEbSrM/w-d-xo.html
Love seeing all of your half/full pan paints combined and the lovely new swatch sheets! Gorgeous!
I’ve been wanting to make a few custom granulations and fill some half pans. I’d like to see how close I can get to some of my favourites, interesting to see how close you were able to get!!
I'm sure you'll be able to do much better, with a bit more time, and experimenting with the various pigments of the same number.
I don't seem to have much luck with any mixes using PBk11 though - I can't get it to be as mixed in as the pre-mixed ones are.
Please do share any advice you discover!
Good morning, Helen ! Those tins are really nice and I love the color. You have an amazing collection of watercolors.
Thanks! I love them!
Love Schmincke’s Mahagoni. It makes so interesting colors when mixing on paper.
It's lovely!
I wanted to share a great discovery today. A dup for Dusk Yellow! Roman Szmal Aquarius Yellow + Van Gogh Oxide Black makes a near perfect mix. I was also searching for the correct yellow and we both know P. Y128 is difficult to find! Aquarius yellow lists P. Y168 but it mixes with the black to a lovely speckled olive green. ❤
That's great! It's such a good landscape colour!
Might be my favorite of your videos to date. Riveting! 🎨
Thanks!!
That lunar blue! Fantastic x
The year Schmincke came out with their super granulating watercolors is the year I started to do watercolor in earnest. I was so excited by the textures the paints could create. I bought the 5ml volcano trio set (not very pigmented) and decided to buy tubes of granulating single pigments to make super granulating watercolors myself. To tell you the truth I don’t use granulating paints for the textures very often, but it’s great fun to create the swatches.
Yes - I'm a total sucker for those textures!! (I've not had any from the Volcano set) I do use them quite regularly in paintings though.
@@helencryer 👍
Lovely video Helen. Please tell us at some point about your art journey and how you got started and how you progressed...Obviously...you have been at this for quite some time. Your painting of the cliffs and ocean with the little dog and person ...is JUST BEAUTIFUL...Thanks for all you do here on youtube....Janis
I mainly got painting regularly last year - I liked collecting paints and playing with them a couple of years before that, but it wasn't till I discovered nice brushes that I really started. Thanks so much!
This was very interesting and educational, thank you. I love your granulating watercolours and some of your versions were really good. That beach painting is gorgeous BTW. xx
Thanks Panda!!
Lovely video! By a lovely consequence I found myself doing this exact same thing today with Roman Szmal Mineral Violet. I used a GRUMBACHER PV19 Thalo Crimson and Roman Szmal Ultramarine for the PB 29 and it was almost perfect. ❤
Ooooo - well done!!
You are very organized. I like your swatch book.
Thanks!
Beautiful I've done that, too, trying to match the colours. It's fun to do and you learn so much. I also love DS Green apatite gen, DS bloodstone, Sch mahogany brown, just to name a few.
Yes, there are plenty more granulating paints I have and love, including a couple of those!
This was so interesting, thank you! Your own mixing attempts really encouraged me to play around. The own mixes can be also very nice - they do not necessarily have to match. Such a joy to watch!🎨❤️
I'm really glad! I hope you've had an enjoyable time!
Wow 😮 you have a wonderful collection of gorgeous paints ❤
Yep - I love them!
I think the blue in Lunar Blue is PB 15:3. I have mixed that successfully. It was fun watching!
My tube just says PB15!
I know...what i am saying is that they are protecting their recipe by not telling you what variant it is. From my experience mixing this, they are using PB 15:3. (RATHER than PB 15:2 OR PB 15:6...etc.).@helencryer
Oh I see what you mean! Thanks!
I love your use of pencil tins! Never thought of that! I’m a granulating fan myself. Just need to learn more about the pigment codes.
I think knowing the pigment numbers really helps with understanding paints better.
Hi Helen , a fascinating exersise in colour mixing , not as easy as it seems . It has been , and still is a problem for me . Some of your mixed colours were spot on , there were others we won't talk about . Thank you so much for all your educational videos , I just devour every second , take care Helen , Mike in Exeter xx
Thanks! I like to think I'm usually reasonably OK at colour mixing, but sticking with set pigment numbers that I may or may not have the correct versions of was a bit more challenging! You're very kind!
Daniel Smith Lunar Blue is awesome
I dabble more in abstract art, so the highly granulated home mixes where the colors separated more really called to me... my favorites of your own mixes are the 1st and 2nd to last and the last ones on the 2nd row along with the 3rd one on the last row. Rhanks for showing us this.
There's something just so rich and delicious about heavily granulating paints in their own right!
@@helencryer I completely agree.
I love the folder idea.
When I found out that Schmincke are available where I live, I bought their single pigment paints and mixed my own version of their Super Granulating colours. It’s actually not that difficult.
How did you get on with their PBk11? Other than the pigments I just didn't have the correct versions of, the PBk11 seemed the main problem in these mixes - the black granulation just wasn't looking like the pre-mixed versions.
@@helencryer I’ll send you a photo on Instagram 🙂.
I haven't tried replicating any colors yet, mainly because I don't have that many paints to mix from. I've just got the basic colors that I love and I've added a few extras over time. For now, I figure if I have to buy 2 or 3 paints to mix a ready made color, then I might as well buy the actual ready made tube of color lol. I have started making my own mixes though. I wanted a darker blue turquoise than I've found ready made so I created my own. I also did the same in creating my own shadow color. I didn't allow enough for shrinkage though. I probably should have filled 2 half pans and combined them once they'd shrunk down. I'll remember that for next time.
Yes, exactly. I was just mixing some up out of curiosity, but really I prefer the convenience of the pre-mixes. I think it was for if you have some of the single pigments already, but none of the pre-mixed granulating ones.
This is so satisfying ☺☺
I love it! More paints for the paint tins! Fun video, interesting to watch you make your own granulating paints :)
Thanks!
good job! enjoyed this!
I'm glad - thanks!
I think you made very interesting and useable colours❤
Thanks!
Very interesting…… So….is it the paper that causes the granulation or the paint pigmentation or maybe a bit of both? 🤔
The paper won't cause granulation - if a paint is smooth, it stays smooth regardless, but I experimented using granulating paints on quite a few different papers/brands, and the paper affects how the granulation seems to settle - possibly to do with how the paper lets the water content in the paint dry.
If you are interested, here's a video I did on different papers - including the granulation experiment:
th-cam.com/video/sFxNqyJZKzk/w-d-xo.html
Lovely….thanks very much for the explanation,will also checkout the video 🙏👍
Lovely and fun video! Your paintings are lovely. I love your raw loose but still realistic style. I wish you were able to film painting more but i totally get why you don't or may be unable to. On the topic of paints do you know Nita Engle only used about 10 paints on her palette? It's really very interesting how she described using them. She had her very own systematic way of painting with them in triads. I highly recommend her book "how to make a watercolor paint itself." Very fun and freeing way of painting with the most natural results. Unlike her i don't think i could get rid of my earth pigments or my dark moody paints. But that's not really what the book is about, it is about taking her techniques and making them your own. I don't have a problem with my lunar black on its own it is very granulating. In mixes it's more grainy unless you use alot OR if mixed with transparent pigments. I think i like bloodstone gen more. I'm having a hard time finding Rosa here and want to try some of those pigments you have. The grays are wonderful and i hear the magenta is the best. I love granulating paints but i love color separating mixes just as much. Such as cascade green and green apatite as an example. While having a play doing some mixes on strathmore mixed media paper i was very surprised just how different the pigments and also granulation showed up. No nooks and crannys for all the heavier pigmentsts to hide. Nothing is able to hide on smooth surface paper. Thank you for another lovely video. ✨
Thanks so much! I will look out for her book!
I love owning lots of paints, but I still frequently paint with a limited palette, including my Portable Painter Micro with just 6. I did an experiment once with granulating paints on all the different cold pressed papers I had (which is how I know I prefer them in Canson XL), but I've not used them on smooth paper much - I'll have to try it again and be more observant!
@@helencryer I hope my comment did not get misconstrued. I meant no offense. I like owning a lot of paints/materials too. And you have a awesome and wonderful collection! It's been super helpful to me at times to compare and see what to buy or what not to buy. So thank you! 🙂 (And you actually use your supplies to create beautiful art unlike some channels where it's just haul after haul and they never create or show any art whatsoever)! I just found it incredible how Nita Engle created all those beautiful paintings working from a unique system of two triads and a few other colors which she also used interchangeably and did not deviate from her palette. That is all I was trying to convey. She was a master and she's passed on now but there is one demo of her here on TH-cam. And also flip thru's of her book as well. I plan to get that book you showed awhile back that you got secondhand. I think you would really love her techniques and I would love to see you make them your own in your own style.Its such a freeing way to create realistic seascapes and landscapes. Also have you seen the artwork of Nicholas Lopez? If you get time and are interested do a search here on TH-cam. Liron (not going to type out his full channel name) showcases alot of great master artists which is how I found him and a few of my favorite watercolorists.
P.S. If you feel so inclined could you do a video on your favorite color separating mixes or paints? Texture is one of my obsessions in art and color separating mixes are so great for trees, leaves, mountains, hills, sky's and certain styles of painting. Again I hope I didn't unintentionally offend you!
Oh gosh - no, I wasn't offended at all - I didn't take it that way!! I looked up the book and added it to my wish list! Sorry - my comment wasn't intended as defensive, just my off-shoot thoughts on limited palettes etc!
And thanks for the further recommendations!
25:07 PY128 is a cool- to mid-yellow. I only know of Rembrandt and Roman Szmal who carry it. Roman Szmal only introduced it in the past few months.
Yep, I looked it up after. Can't say I'm tempted!
@@helencryer I’m very tempted 😂
Fantastic. I want to buy a few granulating paints. Do you find Schmincke to be too opaque? Somebody said they are but I have no experience with them. I don't want to spend money on them and be disappointed.
I don't find them more opaque than any other brand's granulating colours. I don't know if you saw this video, but it shows some more granulating watercolours, which might help.
I have been researching a lot of TH-cam videos about granulating paints. I found yours very helpful and have watched a lot of of your stuff. Someone said that Daniel Smith paints disperse too much? And leave a ring of pigment. Do you find that to be true? I love your landscape paintings. I trust your advice :-)
It really depends on which individual paints you're talking about. I'd say overall, Daniel Smith paints disperse moderately (with paints like QoR having higher dispersion, and Mijello Mission Gold and Sennelier having lower dispersion), but it varies a lot too within each brand.
Where did you get the lovely tins from?
They are spray painted Derwent pencil tins.
Hello! Mahogany Brown is PBr33, not PBr23. I think only Roman Szmal has PBr23.
Thanks, sorry - slip of the tongue - it's actually written down correctly this time!
@@helencryer 👍🏼
I love watching you create 🥹😇
What audiobook would you recommend?
Usually whatever fiction is available on my County Council audiobook app! I'm just starting 'The Dig', but too early to recommend yet!
I love how organised you are! Could you talk a little more about your swatch folder set up please. Thanks!
Thanks! I think I enjoy organising art materials more than doing art!
Here's a video on it:
th-cam.com/video/4EoS57UnI7k/w-d-xo.html
O-oh, not first! 😂
You beat me even to not being first 😂😂. You deserve a medal 🎖️.
@@awatercolourist 🤣🤣🥰
And you deserve a hug! 🤗
@@pastelsgirl Blush 🤣
😂
I am wondering if something similar to Schminke super-granulating WCs could be mixed with Schminke Kohl liquid Charcoal and either a granulating color or staining color so it separates out. Lindsay suggested any granulating PBK 11 mars black mixed with a staining color. I can't afford to experiment. I am having to watch 100s of videos on DIY granulators so I make the right purchases when I am ready to paint portraits of raccoons for my fellow raccoon rehabbers & enthusiasts. I am going to paint portraits of my rehab 🦝🖤🤍 for much requested stickers & prints by my subscribers. I am in the field as a special investigator on the financial crimes by Epsteins partners-in-crime. I have limited time or budget. I am living in a homeless camp in the woods. It's so humid from all the rain, my paint pans are literally already pre-activated 😂😂 I am having to buy water tight containers & Silica gel packets to store my paints, markers, sketchbooks and art so it dries & doesn't grow mold or mildew. I won't be here much longer. And I built a new bushcraft cabin that's going to have a portable wood stove that's going to keep things super dry. Especially with my stone floor, and wall to radiate heat. I have a table, lots of milk crates, storage bins and will have a small area to paint. The chickwire makes hanging things quite easy. It keeps my 🦝🦝🦝 kiddos out of my ice chest & chuck box. They were busting in, and lounging on my bed while eating peanut butter 😂😂 Another yoinked my bagels, and ran up on a limb to eat them while watching me work on my outdoor fireplace & grill area. 😂😂 I am so excited to immortalize them in watercolors on my Boahong 100% cotton watercolor paper. I want to use the Schminke super-granulating WCs but wow, they're exspensive. I may grab the Dusk line. I am going to get the 5ml set of the 3 Kohls. They're going to make gorgeous portraits on their own.
Wow, that sounds quite the experience! Best of luck to you!
I haven't used the liquid charcoal so can't comment on that. My own mixing experiments with PBk11 have not been successful, really. On its own it's great, but I haven't been able to get good copies of other granulating mixes with it. Personally, I think I'd like Daniel Smith's Hematite Genuine for racoon painting.